Cardrops: The Car Becomes A Mailbox

Cardrops is a new, smart package delivery start-up from Belgium. Instead of using your mailbox, the post office or other central delivery points to deliver the stuff you bought online, Cardrops uses the trunk of your car to drop off packages.

“Most people have a smart locker in front of the house — their car”, explain the founders. And “although we drive them around, cars are still parked 90% of their time”. A special GPS tracking system, developed by the company, looks up the real-time location of your car and sends delivery straight to your car, wherever it’s parked.

“Simply select Cardrops as your shipment method during checkout. Cardrops opens your trunk remotely the moment our trusted delivery partner arrives. We securely lock your car and keep you updated via SMS. No hassle, no worries. Driving around to pickup points and postal offices is so nineties, don’t you think? With Cardrops we want you to just enjoy your new goodies.”

Based on the GPS data that the car sends out, Cardrops’ system is able to create a heat map of the exact locations where your car is parked the most. Based on the daily and weekly routines of the car, Cardrops automatically predicts ahead when your parcel can be delivered. Also a Cardrops beacon will be linked with the car in order to enable Cardrops to lock/unlock the trunk or doors. Clients pay €99 for a starter kit, and every individual delivery costs €4.95.

Cardrops is an interesting innovation that tries to find a solution for a huge inconvenience — waiting for packages, whether it’s at home or the office. With Cardrops the concept of the mail box has changed. The future mailbox is movable in terms of space and in terms of time. It doesn’t need to have a direct link with your address any more, but travels around. And as Cardrops delivers 24 hours/day, their service is extremely flexible time-wise. Although lots of people might find it difficult to give others access to their car, I think this service is an interesting contribution to many people’s lives.

The local Starbucks if often filled with hip looking people who are slowly sipping their coffees with hasty people incomprehensibly shouting their names to the baristas. In between these people, the keen observer could discern another group altogether: the people who despite the circumstances desperately try to work. For the people who like a bit more peace, quiet and privacy than their local coffeeshop can offer them, there is Breather.

Half a year ago I read an article about the Dutch police wanting to use flying cars for their work. Finally now it’s here: the personal flying car. Which will, when used on larger scale, change our whole perception on distance and time and, as a consequence, the urban form. Surely it will solve congestion…

Waiting for packages sucks, especially for people on the move. Last month we featured Cardrops, a smart delivery service from Belgium that uses your car trunk to drop off packages. The Russian company Logibox comes up with another solution — bright green vending machines at railway stations where people can pick up their packages.

Guided tours are expensive and do not let you discover places at your own pace. Design agency Forsman & Bodenfors created the app Tram Sightseeing for Västtrafik, the public transportation company in Gothenburg, Sweden. The app directs you to the nearest tram stop with GPS navigation and lets you begin a 45-minute city tour. Users are notified by audio (headphones please!) during the tour when they are near to a geotagged landmark. In addition, the app shows where and where to transfer trams, thanks to its real-time tram traffic indications.